Padres @ Red Sox, 6/20

Welcome to another Interleague edition of Cardboard Legends! Scans from the Milwaukee series have been posted below this post.

After seeing the Brewers the day before, last night I got to see the Padres play at Fenway for the first time in seven years. There weren't many graphers so it was easy to roam around the park, but it wasn't quite as successful as the Brewers series. It was great to get two instrumental pieces of the 04 championship Sox team in Dave Roberts and Terry Francona. Now the first base coach of the Padres, Roberts received a standing ovation during the 6th inning and tipped his cap to the crowd after highlights of "The Steal" and the 2004 ALCS were played on the HD board.

• Chris Denorfia- 06 Fleer Tradition RC
• Dave Roberts- 09 Topps (available for trade)
• Terry Francona- 09 Topps
• Chase Headley- 10 Allen & Ginter
  

Spring Training Return: Koyie Hill

• Koyie Hill 2/2- The Cubs catcher signed an 09 Topps U&H and 2010 Topps from Spring Training camp. Both cards smeared pretty badly. Sent 2/12 (128 days)
  

Brewers @ Red Sox, 6/18 & 6/19: Fielder, Braun, & The (Bru) Crew!

This weekend was bedlam in Boston as the Bruins held their rolling rally parade on Saturday, then came through Fenway with a mini-parade, driving 4 duck boats packed with players into the ballpark. After circling the warning track, the team stepped off in the outfield and walked to the mound as the Red Sox formed a wall of players at home plate. The B's threw in a line to their baseball brethren in an awesome combination of two sports. In addition to getting some great autos today, I caught a squishy puck thrown into the crowds from the duck boats with a commemorative championship logo on it. Here's how I did:

Saturday (all outside the stadium):

• Shaun Marcum- 09 Topps
• Nyjer Morgan- 11 Topps
• Ryan Braun- 09 Topps (My 200th signed card of the set!)
  
• Prince Fielder- 09 Topps

I had read about how much of a character Nyjer AKA "Tony Plush" could be, but you can't really understand it until you see it firsthand. Somebody tried to hand him a Nationals card and he said "sorry man I don't do Nationals stuff I hate those f*ckers." Inside the stadium today somebody else tried to hand him a Nats card, but being mindful of the young kids nearby, simply said "Washington hated on me man".

When he got out of his cab today, I thought he was yelling at one of the graphers that was right at the cab door when he got out. Turns out the person getting the brunt of it was the cab driver, who apparently was rushing Morgan to pay him. After he paid the cabbie he told him to have a better day. When I asked him about it inside later on, he started to laugh and said "Man I don't know what was up with that dude, somebody must have pissed in his corn flakes this morning." Regardless of what kind of trouble he got himself into with the Pirates and Nationals organizations, you have to respect a guy like Tony Plush for telling it like it is.

Sunday:

Outside the stadium:

• John Axford- 11 Topps
• Mark Kotsay- 01 Upper Deck MVP
  
• Sergio Mitre- Brewers custom logo card
• Casey McGehee- 09 Topps U&H
• Prince Fielder- 09 Topps U&H Home Run Derby + photo op
  

Inside the stadium:

• Clay Buchholz- 08 Allen & Ginter
• Nyjer Morgan- Brewers logo card
• Casey McGehee- 10 Allen & Ginter

Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder have to be two of the fan-friendliest stars in the game right now. Braun didn't sign today, but yesterday he took the time to sign for everybody and take pictures as well. Prince signed for everybody yesterday when there were about 10-15 people waiting for him. Today there were quite a few more people waiting for him, but even in a suit and carrying luggage, he took the time to sign for everyone and take pictures with anyone that had a camera. I was amazed at how great he was to us both days, and he's definitely picked up a new fan in the process.

Spring Training Return: Steve Pearce

• Steve Pearce 1/2- Steve signed his 09 Topps card and kept another card, I believe it was a 2010 Topps. TTM has been slow this month, but I've had my hands full with the celebrations going on up here for the Bruins. Sent 3/8 (98 days)
  

Jose Reyes: 2011 Topps Series 2 Diamond Die-Cut Redemption

The card isn't as scratched up as it looks in the scan, it came in a thick top loader and is really shiny. The diamond at the top looks really cool. Got this shipped from Topps in about a week.

TTM Return: Mike Moustakas

• Mike Moustakas 1/1- The Royals' most recent call-up signed a "Topps of the Class" insert from this year's Bowman set in just 10 days from his AAA team in Omaha. I'm glad I sent this out when I did, as Mike was called up and made his major league debut this past Friday. The signature bubbled a bit, but I'm still happy to get this one back with perfect timing. Sent 6/3 (10 days)
  

TTM Return: Luis Gonzalez

It's been a while since I sent to any retired players, but returns have been slow so I had to find a way to get more cards back in my mail box.

• Luis Gonzalez 3/3- The hero of the 2001 World Series signed cards from the 08 Allen & Ginter, 09 Upper Deck, and 06 Topps sets in black sharpie. Sent 6/4 (7 days)
  

Pack Break: 2011 Topps Series 2 Jumbo

Yesterday I got a newsletter from my favorite local shop, Kenmore Collectibles, letting me know that 2011 Topps Series 2 had arrived. I stopped by today to pick up 2 jumbo packs. $12 for 50 cards is a great deal, especially if you're looking for less popular players to send cards to through the mail.

When I first opened each pack, I split the cards and looked straight in the middle for all the inserts that came with it. Most of the inserts from Series 2 are carryovers from Series 1, including the Diamond Duos, Kimball Champions, and Topps 60 sets. Each pack had an assortment of 6-8 inserts from various sets, as well as Diamond Giveaway cards to redeem online. At first glance, I was satisfied to find a Mike Cameron black border parallel numbered 37/60. Cam's a good signer in person and through the mail, and this card will really pop with a silver sharpie. I didn't notice anything else significant while walking to the T, with the exception of a Kelly Johnson card that had a small twinkle effect on one of his jersey buttons.

When I got home, I realized there were a few more hidden gems in these packs than I thought. (Like my jewel pun? Topps has successfully brainwashed me with their diamond-related gimmickry.)

I did a little research on the Johnson twinkly card and found out that it was part of an SP set that Topps put out. There were never official odds given for the cards, but they've been reportedly falling at an average of one per case.

That's why I was surprised when I was looking through the common cards from the other back, and noticed a nice little twinkly spot on Domonic Brown's helmet as well. Neither of these guys are big stars, but I was pretty surprised to find these special cards in back-to-back packs like that.

The final surprise came when I was redeeming the Diamond Giveaway cards online. In the past, I've redeemed them for such world-renowned cards as a 1995 Benji Gil, 1991 Carmello Castillo, and 1974 Burt Hooton. This time, my luck was a little better, as I received a Jose Reyes Diamond Die-cuts insert. It'll cost me $3 to get the physical card shipped to me, but I can't wait to see what it looks like when it arrives.

All in all, two packs that turned out to be much more than what I thought at first glance. Now, it's time to go watch the Bruins put another beating on Roberto Luongo and the Sedin Sisters!

Spring Training Return: Jorge Cantu

• Jorge Cantu 2/2- The Padres recently played a series against the Astros in Houston, and it looks like Jorge stopped back home to catch up on some mail while he was down there. He signed a 2009 Topps and 2010 National Chicle, with the envelope postmarked from his hometown of McAllen, Texas. The further the season goes along, the more exciting it is to get back an occasional spring training send-out like this one. Sent 2/22 (108 days)
  

Athletics @ Red Sox, 6/4

Nobody was at the stadium today, so I thought I'd try my luck with the Sox coming in. I had Pedroia one on one walking in and he denied me. Gonzalez drove all the way in so I had no chance with him. Tommy Hottovy, who was called up last night and made his major league debut, signed a card for me. Later on, Saltalamacchia came out to test drive a Maserati. After he took the car for a spin, he came over and signed for the 10-15 people that were around.

• Tommy Hottovy- 07 Bowman
• Jarrod Saltalamacchia- 08 Allen & Ginter